About Live
by Sooofie
Summary: What happens when you like someone, but you don’t know if that person feels the same way. Do you say something, or are you just waiting? And why does it have to be always so complicaded?
1. Lunch and Secrets

Hi everyone. This is the first time I publish something in here. I already published this story in the German FanFiction archive, but I want it to share with you too. (Just in case someone is reading this and it sounds familiar to him.)

English is not my mother language, so I am sorry for any grammatical mistakes. I hope you will enjoy it even though.

It was a nice and warm spring day in New York. The first of this year. Maria stood at the big window in her office in the Avenger Tower and faces the sun. She enjoyed the warm sunbeams warming her face and her lips twisted into a small smile. Not only because of the joy of the beautiful weather, but also because of the thoughts of yesterday.When it knocked on the door, she almost shed her coffee she is holding it in her hand. She turned in the direction of the sound and cleared their throat. "Yes?" Spencer, Maria's best friend, is standing in the doorway. "Hey, I'm hungry and was near you, I thought I'd come over and ask if you want to come with me", said the blond woman who is now standing in Marias office. "Hello Spence!", Maria said in surprise as she hugged her friend. "This is so nice that you come here extra, but I have a meeting now." "Oh Maria, you work too much! When was the last time you were elsewhere than here or at home? We have not seen each other for such a long time and I miss our lunch dates. Can you maybe move the meeting?" "I think I could postpone it by 2 hours.", Maria said, smiling over at her friend. "Very well! Then let's go. Two hours are over faster than you think." They went over to the elevators. When the door opened, Steve Rogers came towards them. He glanced at Maria and smiled. When he realized that she was not alone, his features became swift and with a short nod and a "Hill" he passed them. "Rogers", Maria replied. When the doors closed, Maria saw that he turned around again. "Oh God! He is really hot!", Spencer giggled as the doors closed. Maria smiled nervously for a moment and noticed how her face blushed a little. Fortunately, the light in the elevator was so dark that Spencer did not notice.

The two women sat in a restaurant near the Central Park, right by the window. They had eaten their ordered salads and drank both the homemade lemonade. "... should not be offended right away. I mean, what does he think who he is, that he can talk to me like that. You would have done that too, right? Maria? Hey, are you even listening to me?" Spencer snapped her fingers in front of Maria's face. "Mhhh, what?", Maria looked at her confused. "What's wrong with you? You've been so lost in thought all along." Maria tried to stop the smile, but she did not quite succeed. "Maria, now tell me. There is something. Or should I ask someone?", Spencer asked curiously. "Maybe ...", Maria answered a little sheepishly. "Come on tell me, who is it? " "I will not tell you. Besides, nothing has happened yet.", Maria said timidly. "How nothing happened? What's that supposed to mean? " "Well, we met only once, and not on purpose. Yesterday I met him by chance in the park and we went for a walk and talked. For a very long time..." "Yeah, and then what happened?", Spencer asked excitedly. "Nothing. He brought me home and we said goodbye. Then he left. However, since then he dont get out of my head." "Maria, but you're not talking about the Captain, right?" Maria looked up immediately and stuttered a bit awkwardly: "What? No, how do you get this idea?" "You did! Then I did not just imagine that he smiled at you in the elevator! You and Captain Am-" "Pssst! Not so loud!" Maria interrupted her, "There's nothing at all. I told you that nothing happened. Besides, I do not even know if he thinks the same way." Spencer looked at her intently. "And what do you want to do about it?" "I have no idea ...", sighed Maria, looking out the window.


	2. Balcony Storys

After lunch with Spencer, Maria sits in her office. The meeting she had postponed was now canceled, and there was still some time left before meeting with Tony Stark for the weekly update. She get up and go to the coffee machine, which stands next to the door and back to her chair, leaning backwards. Thoughtfully, she stared at the white wall in front of her for a while and sighed. She just could not stop thinking of him. The way he looked at her as they ran side by side in the park. And then this smile when she was standing in front of her apartment and he wishes her a good night. The smile she sees, every time she closed her eyes. God, she had fallen in love with Captain America! But why in him? She had sworn herself never to fall in love with someone she works again. It was all connected with complications and pain. He looked pretty good, she thought, while she could not stop smiling.  
She was ripped off by the ringing of cell phone. It was the memory of her meeting with Tony. Maria got up, smoothed her dress and left her office in the direction of the elevator. Arriving on the top floor, she was surprised by the many people in there. She finds Tony near the bar with some people and walk over to him. "Hill! Oh shit, I totally forgot about our meeting! Sorry, tonight is just this important party and there's so much to be clarified, can we postpone that to Monday? ", he asked Maria. "Yes, of course. Is there something I can help you with?", Maria asks. "No, they are just a few things that I have to clarify personally." "Then I will not bother any longer.", she said and was on her way back to the elevator, hen Tony said: "You will join us tonight too, right?" "Uhhhm, actually ...", Maria said uncertainly. She did not even know about the party until now and actually she wants to enjoy the evening on the sofa. On the other hand, Spencer was right, she rarely came out of her own place besides work. Oh hell, she thought to herself. "Yes, yes, I'm coming too. ", She finally said to Tony. "Good." he said and then turned back to the men.

On the way back to her office, Maria looked at her watch. Half past three. "The meeting with Tony was actually my last appointment for today. I could leave work when it's still bright outside and the shops are still open.", She thought. So, she grabbed her coat and purse and left the building. When she reached the street, she called a taxi and drove into town. If there's a party she's going to, then she'll need a new dress as well. Maybe something, where she could attract some attention?  
Just before eight, Maria arrived at her apartment. The rush hour traffic and the crowded shops have cost her all the nerves. But she had at least found something. She saw this beautiful red dress in this small shop, in one of the less busy side streets of New York. With its three-quarter sleeves with a loose falling skirt, it was the perfect dress for a spring party. But now she had to hurry, because in an hour she should be in the Avenger Tower.  
The party was already in progress when, Maria entered the top floor of the tower shortly after nine. At the bar, she spotted Natasha and Clint waving her over. "Maria! How nice that you are there too. Here, for you", Natasha said, handing her a drink. It was something extremely red that tastes so strong of alcohol that Maria grimaced as she sipped it. "My special mix", Natasha said, grinning. "Yes, I taste that.", Maria said to her with a laugh.  
The evening was progressing and Maria was having a great time. She had not laughed so much and felt so carefree for a long time. All worries were forgotten and she enjoyed getting out of her usual routine. She was sitting on one of the couches with Clint, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda when she noticed the alcohol slowly rising to her head. She apologized to the others and headed for the balcony to get some fresh air. She was alone outside and it was pleasantly quiet. Maria went to the railing, propped her arms on it and took a deep breath from the cool evening air. She watched the city's small traffic for a while, when she realized someone was standing behind her. Frightened, she turned around and looked into the ice blue eyes of Steve. "Hey. I'm sorry, I did not mean to scare you", he said. "Then you should not have sneaked like that", Maria said teasingly. "It's nice out here. I do not like it when so many people are in a room and everything is so loud", Steve said, leaning against the railing next to Maria. "I just had one of Nat's drinks too much", Maria laughed. Both stood in silence, as Maria rubbed her arms. "Are you cold?", Steve asked as he undressed his jacket. "No, I'm fine", Maria said, but Steve had already put his jacket over her shoulders. She smiled. "Do you know that I have a déjà-vu right now?", Maria asked him. "Right. I feel familiar too. You even had worn a red dress that evening." Steve looked at Maria from the side, and when she returned his gaze, she felt a tingling that ran through her whole body. "You remember that, but that's at least four Years ago. " "How could I forget that, you looked so beautiful that evening." Steve did not know if he should have just said that, so he hung up quickly." Besides, we'd almost got all killed that night."


	3. Of thoughts an misunderstandments

Maria was almost a bit disappointed when Steve changed the subject so quickly. On the other hand, he had just told her that she is beautiful. Well, so that he found it that evening. Steve realized that Maria was just wandering off with her thoughts. "Maria?" "Hmmm?", Maria looked at him dreamily and expectantly. "Do you want to dance? I like this song.", Steve said to her. She heard Elton John´s "Tiny Dancer" was playing in the background. "Yes, gladly." She smiled at him and was about to make her way inside when Steve grabbed her by the arm. A bit confused, she looked at him. "Not there. There are too many people. I want to dance with you here. Alone.", And with this words, he pulled her closer and began to move with her to the beat slowly. Maria smiled as Steve pulled her closer. When he looked down at her, she returned his eyes and quickly became very warm. They slowed down and Steve's face came closer and closer to hers. As their lips almost touched, a group of bawling party guests came on the balcony and Maria and Steve broke up quickly. A little bit uncertain, they both stood in front of each other. Maria cleared her throat and said, "I'll go back in. It's already pretty late." She quickly pulled off Steve's jacket and put it in his hand before he could reply and left the balcony as fast as possible.  
Back in the penthouse, she searched for her bag and was about to leave the party when she collided with Natasha. "You want to go already?", asked the beautiful Russian woman. "Yes, I do not feel so good. It was probably a drink too much." "Yes, always the drinks are guilty ...", Natasha replied and winked at her, as if she knew more than she should. Maria looked questioningly after her before she got into the elevator and left the party.

"Sam, did you see Ma-, um, Mrs. Hill?" "Um, but that's been a while", Sam replied. "She just left." Steve turned to Natasha, who was leaning against the wall beside him, grinning. "If you hurry, you might catch her." Steve struggled through the party guests toward the elevators. When he was almost there, Thor came towards him with a few guests in the wake. "Captain! You must tell these gentlemen the story of the airport in Germany. They just do not want to believe me.", Thor lolled a bit drunk from his brought Asgardian mead. "Um, that's unfortunately just bad. I have to go urgently", stammered Steve, his eyes wandering back to the elevators. "Oh, what", Thor said, "You can´t just leave such a festivity so early." With that, he pulled Steve to the sofa he had come from. I messed it up, Steve thought. Maria probably does not feel the same as me. Otherwise she would not have gone so fast.

Once in her apartment, Maria kicked her High Heels through the room and fell on her sofa. She sat there for a while, until the darkness in the room was broken by the light of her cell phone. She got up and went to the dresser where she had dropped it.

_Natascha Romanoff:  
Did you get home well?  
xNat._

Maria had hoped the massage would have been from Steve. She must have simply misinterpreted the situation on the balcony. Steve does not want anything from her. This near-kiss was just born from this moment. He'd only asked her if she wanted to dance with him because he wanted to be polite. He was always so polite and decent. That was just Steven Rogers. The gentleman par excellence. Maria quickly replied to Natasha's message and then went to her bedroom to get ready for the night.  
As she lay in bed, she let the evening review again. She kept thinking about Steve's look just before her lips almost touched. What if Steve did not just want to be polite? What if she was not just imagining that glint in his eyes right now? What if…. Further, Maria did not think because sleep came over her at that very moment.


	4. In the middle of the Night

In the night, Maria woke up with the ringing of her cellphone. "Hill?", she said sleepily. "You must come immediately, Hill. I need you here.", Nick Fury replied. "I should be there in three hours." "Hurry up!", Nick said before hanging up. Maria knew those nocturnal calls from Nick Fury. She should not ask what's going on, just follow his orders. Even though she had worked for Tony Stark for a year, she and Nick were still very close and she helped him with some of his secret assignments. Maria got up and got dressed. She went to her car and drove to the meeting point that Nick told her via a secure line.  
Nick stood with Phil Coulson and Natascha Romanoff around a table full of files and photos. "What's up?", Maria asked when she was close enough to the table. The three looked at her at the same time. "Someone came up with secret S.H.I.E.L.D. files that we thought were destroyed when the helicarriers crashed into headquarters", Nick Fury told her. "What? What were those files? And why are you all looking at me like this?", Maria replied. "These were mainly files about S.H.I.E.L.D. employees with a very high level of security. More specifically, most of the files were about you." "About me? Who should steal files about me?", Maria asked in astonishment. "We have a guess", came a voice from behind her. Maria turned around and saw Steve standing behind her in the doorway. "We believe your father stole the files", Nick finished the sentence. Maria looked in disbelief. "My father?", she said with a laugh, "What should my father do with files about me? And how should he have got these? As a normal citizen you do not even come near the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarter." "We think that at the time, as S.H.I.E.L.D. went down, he had already worked there for a while.", Coulson replied. "There are copies of the employee files. We are currently checking for a match. He could have used the situation, when all the other people were busy leaving the building, to get into the file rooms." "No! No this cannot be true! That's totally- No! ", Maria said in disbelief and stormed out of the room. "Hill!", Fury shouted after her. "Hill, come back!" He was about to follow her when Steve put a hand on his chest and said, "Leave her. She needs time to process that." With that Nick went back to the desk.

When it was getting dark outside, Maria came back to the abandoned power plant Nick Fury had chosen as the meeting place. She just had to get out of the room. Get out of there to clear your head. She could not believe what she had just learned. Her father should have stolen files about her? But why? What should he do with it? He hated her. All her lifetime, he has blamed her for being responsible for the death of her mother. He ignored her, locked her in her room, she was not allowed to eat for days and then there were the days where he had drunk too much and she was not allowed to make a mistake. She always had to hide the bruises, so she always wore long-sleeved shirts even in summer. Why would that man who did this to her want to have files about her now?  
"Hey, you're back.", Natasha's voice tore her out of her thoughts. "Hey. I just had to go. I'm sorry." "It´s Okay. Nick was upset for a moment, but he recovered.", Natasha smiled at her. "Do you have any news?" "Yes, we have found a match in the employee data." The two women went to the others standing in front of a computer. On the desktop was a picture of a man in his 60s. _ED VERNON_ was standing next to it. "He's getting old," Maria said dryly when she saw her father's picture.

Natasha stood in the small kitchen that belonged to one of the riparian apartments of the power plant and tried to cook something with the ingredients Phil had previously brought. "You do not often go grocery shopping Coulson, right? What should I do with it? You brought me pasta, rice, and potatoes, but nothing to make any kind of sauce?" "I'm sorry, Nick always sounds so angry when he calls. I always try to get started as fast as possible. I just threw some things together", said the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent a little compassionate. Natascha then managed to conjure something out of the ingredients and the five of them all sat in silence at the table and ate. No one really knew what to say. It was an unusual situation because even Nick Fury did not know what to do.

After dinner, Maria was alone in the kitchen drying the dishes. She stared at the dusty wall in front of her. "If you dry the plate any longer, it's turning to dust", Steve said as he walked behind her. Maria winced slightly. "You always think it's funny to scare me, eh?" "It was not my intention, I'm sorry", said the super-soldier as he took a towel to help Maria. "It's okay. I just was elsewhere with my thought." "If you ever want to tell someone where you were, then let me know. I'm a very passable listener." "Thank you.", Maria smiled at him. They stood silently side by side, drying the last plates and pots. Steve was about to head for the door when Maria said, "Steve? I think I would like to talk about it. I mean, only if the okay is for you. After all, it's already late." "I´m not getting tired so soon", Steve said, smiling at Maria.


	5. Tears

Maria and Steve walked silently side by side over the grounds of the old factory for a while before Maria started talking. "My parents never wanted children. When my mother became pregnant, my father wanted her to abort, but she couldn´t done it. She had no problems during pregnancy. Everything went normal. Until my birth. She had lost a lot of blood and had been very weak. The doctors were able to stabilize her and said that if she survives the night, she will recover. She did not survive it." Maria took a deep breath before continuing. "My father had to promise her to take care of me and not give me away. The first years it was my grandmother who took care of everything. She raised me. My father blamed me for my mother's death. He really hated me. When I was five, my grandmother died and I was alone with my father. He was not interested in me and had been permanently drunk. I had to learn early to take care of myself. When I was older, he kept telling me that I had destroyed his whole live." Maria had to suppress the tears, because she did not want to cry. Not in front of Steve. "It was good that I had no friends at school. At least no one noticed the bruises that graced my back and my arms." Steve did not know what to say. He wanted to hug Maria and tell her how sorry he was, but he did not know if that was right. "When I was 17", Maria continued, "my father threw me out of the house. I did not even have a chance to get my stuff. I did not know where to go and what to do, so I lived on the street for a while. Somehow, I ended up in a kind of meeting place for teenagers without a home. The leader had good contacts with the Marine Corps and got me a training position there. And there Nick picked me up."

Maria noticed how her eyes filled up with tears. She had never told anyone her story before. She closed her eyes and noticed how a tear broke and ran down her cheek. Then she felt Steve's hand close around her face and his thumb wiped away the tear. Now she could not hold back and started crying. Steve pulled her close and held her in his strong arms. So they stood there. Maria did not know how long. She enjoyed this hug. Not only because it was Steve, but also because she never had someone like that. Someone who comforted her, who not only see in her for the tough agent, someone who understood that she cannot always be strong. When Maria broke the hug, she saw that Steve's T-shirt was completely soaked with tears where she was lying. "Let's go back. It's pretty late and we're not even back at the factory.", Maria said as she wiped the last tears from her face. "Yes, you are right. A bit of sleep may not be wrong", Steve said, wondering if he just missed his chance.  
As they stood in front of one of the riparian apartments which Nick assigned to Maria, they looked at each other. Nobody knew what to say. "Good night, Maria", Steve said before walking away. "Steve?" He looked back at her. "Thanks!" Steve smiled. "You are welcome." Then Maria did not know exactly what she was doing, but she walked over to Steve, grabbed his face, pulled him over to her and kissed him. Steve, who had to realize what was happening, pulled her closer and returned her kiss. When they broke, they both looked at each other. "You- you might want to come in?", Maria asked a little breathless. Steve just smiled at her before kissing her, heading for the front door. Inside, Steve pushed her against the wall and began to kiss her more deeply, which Maria returned. He starts to kiss her neck and Maria could not suppress a small moan, which made both of them start laughing. Steve looked at her with such a penetrating look in his eyes that Mary realized how I turned knees into pudding. "You're beautiful!", Steve said in a low voice. "Are you telling me when I'm standing in front of you, just after I cried", said Maria, laughing. Steve answered with a smile and a long kiss.  
Maria's hands wandered over Steve's upper body and then under his T-shirt while she was still kissing him. He was a little shocked when he felt her cold hands on his skin but let them grant. His hands ran through her hair and opened her bun. Some strands fell curly in the face which Steve stroked behind her ear. Maria started stripping off Steve's shirt and wrapped her legs around him as he carried her toward the small bed. There he sat down with her on his lap. He pulled her sweater over her head and traced her contours with his fingers as he kissed that little spot over her collarbone. Maria started to open Steve's pant button. The moment she stood up to free him from his pants he used to lay her on the bed. Then he also took off her pants and bent over her to kiss her long and deep.

The sunbeams falling through the little dusty window and tickling Maria's face. Slowly she opened her eyes. She felt Steve's arm on her hips and began to smile. She had actually spent the night with Captain fucking America. With the man she had feelings for too long.  
When Steve woke up, he noticed Maria's fingers stroking his slight beard. "Good morning", he smiled at her. Maria smiled back. He saw that she is wearing his T-shirt. "It looks good on you, you should wear it more often", he told her before kissing her.


	6. Punches

Steve sneaked out of Maria's apartment before everyone else was awake. He kept thinking about how peaceful she looked when she fell asleep in his arms. After all that has happened to her in her life, she has always remained strong. Steve always had a good relationship with his parents until they died. And then Bucky and his family had been there for him. He was never alone. Maria should not be that either. Not anymore.

Nick Fury called the agents to discuss what to do next. "So far we have no clue where Ed Vernon could be. He has made no demands and came to no one with. So, we have no idea why he stole these files and what he intends to do with them", said the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. "And what should we do in your opinion? Wait until something happens?", Natasha asked. "Yes, I think that's our only option. Of course, I will continue to search for his whereabouts, but you should all continue to do your work. Not that anyone comes up with the idea that we are still in contact. I think some people would not like that."

As she was on her way to her car, Nick came to Maria again. "Hill, you have to take care of yourself. I do not know what your father is planning, or what he has already done. He has not sat around the last year with information about you and some more S.H.I.E.L.D. Employees and get twiddle thumbs. There's a reason he has those files." "I still cannot quite believe it all", Maria said, her eyes lowered. "Take care of yourself", Fury repeated again before leaving. Maria leaned her back against the driver's door of her car. She felt her eyes fill with tears again. When did she mutate into such a crybaby? When she heard footsteps in front of her, she opened her eyes. "Hey", Steve said, now standing in front of her. "Hey", Maria smiled at him, "you disappeared so fast this morning." "Yes, I'm sorry. I did not want the others to hear. You know Natasha, if she got wind of it first, then we should only listen to stupid sayings from her ", said Steve and took a step towards Maria and placed his hands on her hips. "I think it would be nice, if that might just be our little secret for now," Maria said as she ran her hands over his chest. Steve leaned down and kissed her. When he broke away from her, a tear ran down Maria's cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb. "Was I so bad?" ,he joked. Maria smiled. "No. No, that's not it. I do not know why I'm so close to the water at the moment. Usually I'm not like that." Steve hugged Maria and kissed her forehead. They stood there for a while, until Maria broke away from the embrace. "We should leave. By the time we get back to town, it's late in the evening." "Can I see you tonight?", Steve asked. Maria answered him with a kiss. She watched Steve as he walked to his motorcycle. Then she sat in her car and drove off as well.

When Maria arrived at her apartment, she stopped petrified. The door to her apartment was open. She quietly parked her things in the hallway and pulled her gun from the side pocket of her bag. Slowly she went to her apartment. Drawers and cabinets were open and their belongings were spread on the floor. She slipped into the single rooms of the basement of her apartment before slowly making her way upstairs. Again, the contents of all cabinets were on the floor. She was startled when she heard a noise from below. Slowly she went down the stairs again. As she turned into the kitchen, a tall black person stood in front of her. Instinctively she punched in the men's face. "Maria!" The person yelled. "Steve? Oh my God! I am so sorry! I thought you were the burglar." "Yeah, I can feel that", Steve said as he held the spot next to his eye. Maria switched on the light and saw that Steve was bleeding there. "I'm so sorry, Steve! Take a seat on the sofa, I'll get something to disinfect", Maria said and went up the stairs to the bathroom. With the first-aid kit in her hand, she sat next to Steve, who was trying to wipe the blood from his face with a tissue. Maria put some of the disinfectant on a cotton ball and dabbed the spot with it. Steve winced slightly, which made Maria smile. Steve was watching her all the time. When Maria returned his gaze, he could not help but kiss her and pull him onto his lap.  
When Maria broke away from Steve, she looked around her apartment and noticed now the extent. Steve saw that Maria's gaze changed and said, "We should let Fury know. I do not think it's a coincidence that your apartment is being ransacked today." "Yes, you're probably right. That would be a too big coincidence if a few would-be burglars had chosen my very well secured apartment for robbing just today." "If you want, then you can come with me. I think we should just leave everything as it is and go through it tomorrow", Steve suggested. "Yes, that would be great". Maria quickly wrote Nick a message but said that he would not have to come over and that she would stay in a friend's home for tonight.

Maria quickly packed up a few things while Steve waited for her in the living room. As she came down the stairs, Steve said: "You should wear a thicker jacket. It could get cold outside".

When they were down the street, Steve gave her a motorcycle helmet. Maria put it on and got behind Steve on the machine. "Hold on", he said, before he set off. Maria's hands snaked around his chest and her fingers get tangled in his leather jacket. She leaned her head against his back. Although someone had just broken into her apartment, she felt as safe and secure with Steve like she had never felt before. She felt the chill wind in ger face as they drove through the streets of New York. A small smile spread on her lips. She was happy. Although that was probably the last thing she should have felt in her situation, she was just so happy to be with Steve.

When they arrived at his apartment, Steve took off her jacket and hung it on a hook behind the door. Maria looked around the small two-room apartment as she felt Steve's gaze on her neck. "Not quite as big and chic as your apartment, but it´s enough to sleep in here", he said. "I like it here. It's not as cold as mine.", Maria turned over to Steve and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think we started something earlier, what we should finish now." With that, Steve picked her up and carry her kissing in his bedroom.


	7. Our only opinion

Maria woke up with the scent of coffee in the air. When she opened her eyes, she saw a coffee-filled cup standing on the nightstand beside her. She sat up and took a long sip of the cup, when Steve came out of the bathroom. He wore nothing but a towel around his waist. Maria smiled mischievously at him. "Good morning handsome," she said as she got up and walked toward him. Steve answered her with a long kiss. Maria's fingers moved slowly to his towel and she tried to open it, as Steve's hand held her back. "You do not know how much I would like to spend the whole day in bed with you, but you have to go to your apartment. Fury will be there soon, and you'll have to go through your stuff. " "Yeah, you're right," she said as her hand settled on Steve's cheek. Maria gathered her clothes and got dressed before going to Steve's kitchen. "Shall we drive off?" Steve asked. Maria nodded her head.  
On the way back to her apartment Maria was thinking all the time about what she would find or not find in her apartment. What did her father want there? Why is he rummaging through all her things? And why now? Steve stopped in front of Maria's apartment and both got off the bike. "I'll go right back, I think Fury will add up one and one when I'm here with you," Steve said, giving Maria a quick kiss. "Thanks for the coffee," Maria said smiling, before she turned and walked into the building.

In her apartment, Maria began to clear the cabinets and drawers up. She had almost finished the living room and the entryway when Nick Fury knocked on her door. "Have you already found something?" "No, not yet. Actually, everything is still there. Just not in its place.", Maria answered. "For me, it looks like he was looking for something specific." "But what? How should he know what is in my possession? In the files information's about that are not listed. And when he threw me out I could not take anything with- Oh God!" "What's going on?" Nick asked in surprise, as Maria jumped up and ran upstairs to her bedroom. As he followed her, he saw that she loosened a screw on the ventilation shaft behind her nightstand. She took out a small shoe box. "I think he was looking for this," Maria said, holding up a golden amulet. "What's this?", Fury asked her. "The amulet once belonged to my mother. I found it when we were older in our attic. The day my dad kicked me out, I wore it," Maria told him. "And what should he do with it? It's just a necklace? That's why he did not steal all the files. He could also have found out your address differently." "But I do not know what else he might have been looking for," Maia said as she opened the amulet. She looked into the faces of her mother and her father. "He gave it to her for her wedding day". Nick took the necklace from Maria's hand and examined it. When he took the pictures out, he said: "Hill." Maria looked to him. Nick held out the back of one of the photos. 33T-5213403-A7H52 stood on the back.

Natasha, Phil Coulson and Steve sat at Maria's table. Maria leaned against the counter behind them as Nick walked around the room. "Is it not a bit careless to meet here?" Natasha asked. "I cannot let you drive for miles and miles over again. This is important. We must find out what these numbers mean. And what the stolen files have to do with it."  
The five agents sat together all afternoon wondering what the numbers might be. Nobody had a suitable idea. "There must be a hint in the files," said Agent Coulson. "You mean we should find Ed Vernon?" Natasha asked. "No. Yes. Well, I would not look for him right now, but if he knows that Maria has this necklace, then he will come back " "We should take Maria as a decoy?" Natasha asked in disbelief. "That's not a bad idea", Nick Fury said. "We cannot do that. We do not deliberately put an agent in danger! What if all this is an ambush and he just want us to handle him Maria out?" Steve yelled. "Well, then stay here, Rogers and take care that that does not happen," retorted the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. "You cannot be serious!" Steve said and looked at Maria, who stood with her back to the group and looked out of the window. "He's right, Steve. That's our only option, "she said softly as she turned to the group.


End file.
